“It helps to be less fancy,” Mats Wilander suggests one change for Carlos Alcaraz that can make him invincible

Wilander feels Alcaraz should play less fancy more often.

“It helps to be less fancy,” Mats Wilander suggests one change for Carlos Alcaraz that can make him invincible

Mats Wilander, Carlos Alcaraz (Images via Imago)

Former Swedish tennis star and seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander has come up with a suggestion for Carlos Alcaraz that can make the Spaniard an invincible player. Wilander has said that Alcaraz should try to stick to his conventional shots and play “less fancy”. As the 21-year-old beat Jannik Sinner in the 2024 Roland Garros semifinal, Wilander highlighted the change Alcaraz needs to make to his game.

The tennis expert feels that the 21-year-old sometimes tries to be fancy which might not yield the best results for him. Thus, Wilander suggests that Alcaraz needs to realize that he can play less fancy and win matches like he won against Sinner.

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The Swedish tennis icon also heaped praise on the Spaniard for his strong defense and claimed that if Alcaraz continues to defend as he did on Friday, he will surely end up in the same place as the big three. 

I think once he realizes he has to sometimes play like this in certain matches, fewer drop shots, less fancy, he’s going to be impossible to beat. Obviously he’s great when he’s aggressive and when he defends and to me today he showed he’s going to be as good as Roger, Rafa, and Novak at defense.
Mats Wilander said about Carlos Alcaraz. (H/T: Tennis 365)

Tim Henman impressed with Carlos Alcaraz’s maturity

While Mats Wilander shared his suggestions for Carlos Alcaraz, his fellow panelist, Tim Henman was impressed with the Spaniard’s maturity during his semifinal match against Jannik Sinner. Henman pointed to the fact that how Alcaraz was patiently waiting for his chances and whenever they came, he pounced on them.

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (Via Imago)

The former British tennis ace believes that playing such a high-intensity match in the semifinal sets Alcaraz well for the final against Alexander Zverev. 

And the maturity of Alcaraz, there was never any panic he was waiting for his opportunities with variations, the heavy high spinning deep shots to the baseline and when he got the opportunity just crushing the ball so well, amazing performance. It sets him up incredibly well for the final.
Tim Henman said of Carlos Alcaraz.

Notably, Alcaraz lost the first and third set against Sinner and it seemed that the match was slipping from his grasp. However, the Spaniard showed great composure and skillset to win the next two sets and close the match in his favor. He beat Sinner 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in over four hours and now will be up against Zverev in the final.

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